Henry's End

by Julie Richman

  “I know I said this was so much better when you do it with someone else, but that’s not really the truth. The truth is, it was totally amazing because I shared it with you.” Quinn’s eyes beamed with love as his two fingers softly trailed down Henry’s cheek.

  “Thank you for asking me.”

  “Just sit there,” Edwin was having a fine time pampering Henry.

  “I can absolutely do that.” Henry was too tired to move. Both he and Quinn sat there on the couch being tended to by the other guests like rock royalty.

  “I can’t even imagine what your body feels like.” Edwin sat down next to him, handing him a plate filled with food.

  “There isn’t any part of me that doesn’t hurt. Even my hair hurts from my helmet. My ass hurts. My balls hurt. My thighs are burning.” He stopped and looked at Edwin and laughed, “And I’m just a whiny little bitch, aren’t I.”

  “Tonight you get to whine and be as bitchy as you want, cupcake.”

  Putting his head on Edwin’s shoulder, “You’re so good to me.”

  “So how much money did you two raise from all this torture?” Edwin was primping the pillows behind Henry’s lower back.

  “Good question. I think we’re going to do a tally in a little while. Derek’s been gathering a lot of it.” Quinn looked like it was painful just raising the fork to his mouth.

  “You two deserve a vacation after this. You’ve been training every weekend since you met. It’s time to plan a trip, a real trip.” Willie suggested, sitting down on a chair next to Quinn.

  Quinn turned to Henry, “Imagine just waking up and relaxing. Lying around, reading, swimming, worrying about what’s for dinner.”

  “Now that’s what I’m talking about,” Willie agreed. “A tropical getaway.”

  “Someplace exotic like Bali,” Quinn reached for Henry’s hand and gave it a squeeze, “or the Seychelles.”

  “Yes, the Seychelles,” Edwin closed his eyes at the fantasy, “I hear the people are beautiful in the Seychelles.”

  “Where are these places?” asked Willie.

  “I think they’re off the coast of Africa, but that’s all I can tell you. I don’t know exactly where.” Henry looked around for corroboration. “Ok, we’ve clearly got a group that did well in geography.”

  They all laughed.

  Henry felt Quinn’s thumb rubbing along the back of his hand, “We need to look into this vacation,” he smiled, the look in his eyes incendiary.

  “Yes. We do.” He leaned over to kiss Quinn.

  Holding a box, Derek came and sat down with everyone. “Ready to find out how much you two bitches raised for the Lesbian and Gay Center?”

  Lots of excitement and hooting from the room, “In all seriousness,” Derek began, “thank you to the two of you for making this monumental ride. You both have been so dedicated, weekend after weekend, training for today. And we all really appreciate it. And we really, really appreciated being able to sit on our asses while you two nuts went out there and did all the work.”

  His last statement brought on a round of applause and then he went on, “But now we’re going to ask all of you lazy people,” he looked around the room, “to dig deep, pull out your checkbooks and do our boys here proud.”

  Henry handed Derek a manila envelope, “These are the donations from some of the people I work with.”

  “Wow.” Derek’s eyes widened as he pulled out the tally sheet from inside the envelope. “That’s very generous. Add that to what was donated from the precinct and you boys made a serious impact.”

  Henry found Quinn’s hand on the couch and squeezed it without looking at him, but he absolutely knew the look on Quinn’s face, the pride in being supported as an openly gay man by the members of his precinct. It wasn’t all that many years before, in 1990, when San Diego police officer John Graham came out to the local press to show gays and lesbians that they could be police officers and good ones at that. With the support of then Chief of Police, Bob Burgreen, Graham paved the way for men like Quinn, Derek and Willie to pursue careers they were passionate about and live their lives openly as true partners with their heterosexual counterparts on the force.

  “Oh, I almost forgot.” Derek pulled an envelope out of his folder and handed it to Henry, “Here Henry, you should do the honors on this one.”

  Taking the anonymous white envelope, Henry stuck his finger under the flap to rip it open, as excited as everyone else to see its contents. At first he thought his eyes were not focusing properly on the check, as he stared in disbelief. Shaking his head and smiling, he muttered, “He didn’t.”

  Peering over his shoulder, Quinn let out a low whistle, “Nice,” was all he said.

  It took Henry a moment to gather himself and let the rest of the room in on the gift, “This is a very generous donation from one of my oldest friends. Actually the person responsible for bringing this guy into my life.” He slung an arm over Quinn’s shoulder and pulled him in tight, kissing his cheek.

  “Enough with you two,” Edwin snarked, snatching the check from Henry’s hands. “Oh, that is very nice. And notice he did this from his personal account and not business. I love him even more.” Edwin continued to stare at the check.

  “Where is Schooner tonight? Why isn’t he here?” Willie asked

  “He was out along the route today with his kids cheering us on.” Henry did not directly answer the question.

  So Edwin answered for him, “CJ, his wife, doesn’t like our boy here.” He hit Henry in the biceps. “It appears he wasn’t Team CJ when they were all in college and she still hasn’t forgiven him.”

  “What team were you on?” Terry’s wife, Patty, asked.

  “I was Team Mia. Mia was a close friend of mine and she is the person who actually introduced me and Schooner.”

  “Well, it appears you were on the losing team,” Terry laughed.

  “Only because Team CJ didn’t play fair and she knows that I know the score.”

  “Why? What happened?” Everyone loved the gossip, even though it was a decade old.

  “Schooner was really in love with Mia and she left, without a trace. Back then there was no internet, no search engines, no cell phones. And she just went back to New York and disappeared. Never even said goodbye to him. Totally broke his heart. But you see the thing was, Mia loved him just as much as he loved her. So, for her to run like that, something really bad happened, something that totally devastated her. The only person that could have been responsible was CJ. And she’s always denied it, but she knows I don’t buy that for a minute.”

  “So, she doesn’t like your friendship with Schooner?” Patty asked.

  Henry shook his head. “She’s never been a big fan of mine. But I do have to say, when my jaw was broken last year, she was very kind in making me all this organic pureed food. She certainly didn’t have to do that and it was really sweet of her.”

  “I’m still not over this check.” Edwin was clutching it tightly. “Just thinking about that man gives me a semi and then holding this much money, his money, mmm, better than taking a blue pill.”

  Laughing, Quinn looked at Derek, “Get that check out of his hands before it gets all sticky.”

  It was another few hours before Henry and Quinn were able to slip into the empty hot tub in their complex. Sitting side by side, steam curling up into the night air, dissipating in the darkness, they watched the stars shimmer against the black sky.

  “What next?” Henry finally broke the silence.

  Quinn smiled, “I was just thinking that.”

  “And?”

  “And this is next. This. We’re living it.”

  Henry was satisfied with the answer.

  “I still can’t get over that check,” Quinn commented as they drove up to Newport Beach.

  “That’s just who he is. It’s not about being showy or anything, it’s just about doing the right thing. That’s really big with him.”

  “I’ve never been to the L9/Newport Beach
facility. I’m looking forward to seeing it.”

  “This was the first,” Henry explained. “To me this one feels like a yacht club/fitness club hybrid.”

  “What?” Quinn’s face scrunched.

  “Wait, you’ll see. You’ll have to tell me if you agree.”

  Pulling into the parking lot, Quinn turned to Henry, astonished, “They have valet?”

  Laughing, Henry nodded, “It’s quite the concept. He really is a brilliant businessman.”

  “That I figured out a long time ago.” Quinn looked around at the facility perched on the edge of a private marina. “Do people come in by boat to work out?”

  Again, Henry nodded, “He’s got the whole SoCal scene worked out.”

  “Amazing,” was all Quinn could say as they entered the facility. “It’s so different than the two L9’s I’ve been to.”

  “Good morning,” a peppy blonde was behind the desk to greet them.

  “Good morning.” Henry smiled at the cute girl. “We’re here to see Schooner Moore.”

  Looking at a computer monitor, she glanced back at the handsome duo, “Henry and Quinn?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll need some ID. Do you have a membership?” she looked at them apologetically. “Sorry, club rules for everyone’s safety.”

  As they dug for their wallets, they heard a voice they’d just heard a week before, “Henreeeeee.”

  Running toward them was Holly Moore, ponytail tied up in a pink ribbon and a pink and blue flowered pinafore flouncing around her as she ran.

  “Holly.” Henry crouched down to catch her, abandoning his ID search. Scooping her up with a twirl, “How’s my girl? What happened to your teeth?”

  “I got new ones.” She smiled, showing off teeth into which her pretty face had yet to grow. Putting her down, she ran to take the empty seat behind the receptionist’s station.

  “I’ve got this, Robin.” Schooner held up a hand to the receptionist, letting her know the ID’s weren’t necessary. In his other arm, Schooner held a miniature version of himself, toddler-sized.

  “Zac, this is Henry and Quinn.”

  His pale blue eyes, near the color of his father’s, looked as if a storm were brewing within them. Shifting in Schooner’s arms, he gave Quinn a hard look, “Stop looking at me,” and then hauled off and punched him in the arm.

  “Zac!” Schooner admonished the toddler. “That is bad. We don’t hit people.”

  “It probably hurt him more than it hurt me.” Quinn smiled.

  “Tell Quinn you are sorry,” Schooner’s voice was firm.

  “No. Not sowwy.” Zac shook his head.

  “Zac.” There was no mistaking Schooner was the disciplinarian as he held the little boy up and looked him in the eyes. “You are going to apologize to Quinn and tell him you are sorry. NOW,” and he turned the little boy to face Quinn.

  With his lower lip quivering, but refusing to cry, Zac managed, “I sowwy.”

  “Apology accepted.” The big cop smiled at the little boy, his eyes revealing a melting heart. “How would you like to go lift some weights with me?”

  The quivering lip immediately disappeared, replaced by an engaging smile and head nod.

  “C’mon.” He reached for Zac who willingly left his father’s arms and put the little boy on the ground. Together they walked, hand in hand, toward the free weights.

  Henry watched Quinn leading Zac away, his comfort level with the toddler so complete.

  “Makes you almost want one,” Schooner laughed.

  Henry looked at him with a terrified look, “Well, I don’t quite know about that. But he seems quite comfortable with the whole thing.”

  “Hmm,” Schooner smiled, nodding his head.

  Shaking his head no, “Get that look off your face, Moore.”

  Sitting down in Schooner’s office, Henry just looked at his friend and smiled. “Thank you for that very generous donation to the Lesbian and Gay Center.”

  “My pleasure. Happy to help.”

  “I owe you so much,” Henry looked deep into his friend’s sky blue eyes.

  “You don’t owe me anything, H. You’re family.”

  “You helped me run through it and gave me the greatest gift of my life. That man.”

  “You were ready to do the hard work, ready to get healthy on all levels. I’m so proud of you, and I’m just glad I knew him and could make sure you met. I knew from the time I met him that he was just a good guy.” He stopped and smiled, “And you two have really built something together. You can’t even imagine how much I admire you.”

  Quinn entered and sat down, a sleeping Zac on his shoulder. “He is really strong for a little guy.”

  “Strong-willed, too,” his father laughed. “I can tell you already, Holly is just going to raise herself. She’s smart and focused and has this innate maturity. And this one,” he pointed at Zac, “this one is going to give me a run for my money. He’s a little hellion.”

  They all laughed.

  “We should take bets now on how many schools he’s going to get kicked out of.” Schooner smiled at the guys.

  “Two,” was Henry’s guess.

  “I’m going with three,” Schooner smiled.

  “I don’t know,” Quinn looked down at the sleeping boy on his chest. “Maybe he’ll surprise us. But just to hedge my bets, I’ll go with one.”

  And all three men laughed again as Zac Moore burrowed himself into Quinn Callahan’s shoulder.

  Putting the watering can down on the wooden deck next to his feet, Henry leaned against the railing, realizing he was looking for support both metaphorically and physically.

  “You’re not serious, are you?” It wasn’t the first time they’d had this disagreement. It was one of the few things that breached the harmony in their relationship. On several occasions, it had gotten pretty bad and Henry thought, this is going to be the thing that eventually breaks us up.

  “Yeah, I am. Maybe we just want different things.” Quinn’s eyes were overwrought with sadness.

  “Maybe the timing just isn’t right, Quinn,” Henry implored, devastated he was hurting his lover but, wanting Quinn to really listen to what he was saying.

  “Is it timing, Henry, or is it a dead end?”

  Quinn was like a Pitbull and Henry could only imagine what the man was like in an interrogation room. If he wasn’t so annoyed with him at the moment, he knew Quinn’s tenacity would be making him hard.

  “Honestly, I don’t really have the answer to that. I just know that the answer isn’t, ‘No, never’.”

  Approaching him, Quinn reached out his fingers tracing Henry’s check. “It’s not that I just want a family. It’s that I want a family with you. I know you’d be a great parent. I think we would make great parents.”

  Henry closed his eyes, leaning his face into Quinn’s palm, before taking his hand and leading him over to the two-seater glider.

  “I think we would make great parents, too. Our little boy or girl would know just how loved they are and we would raise them with such great values of respect and acceptance. But Quinn, I want you to myself for a bit longer. I know that may sound selfish, but I’m not ready to share you. I like the freedom of just us. The only responsibility we have right now is to each other and these plants.” He pointed to the beautiful plantings on their deck that had begun with the lilac bush and ivy.

  “Let’s travel and save for a house, so that our kids have a backyard to play in,” Henry went on.

  “Kids? Was that a plural I heard?” Quinn’s baby blue eyes sparkled.

  Giving the glider a shove off with his feet, Henry looked at Quinn, “A boy and a girl would be nice.”

  “You’re thinking about Holly and Zac, aren’t you?”

  “Yeah and how good you were with him. That little bugger has got his mother’s winning personality,” Henry remarked facetiously.

  Laughing, Quinn shook his head. “I think he’s a pretty cool little guy, but he’s definitely goi
ng to be a handful.”

  “So what is it you’ve been thinking?” This was the deepest they’d ever gotten into the conversation, without one or both of them storming out of the room. “Adopting internationally? Or one or both of us actually fathering a child?” As he said it, a yearning for a baby of Quinn’s took root in his soul, appearing literally out of nowhere and firmly planting its seed.

  “I’m open.” The look on Quinn’s face said it all. They may not have an insta-family tomorrow or in six months or a year, but someday, not too far off on the horizon, they would have a family. They would be a family.

  “I’m going to have to keep the PTA bitches off you.” Henry shook his head. “You’re going to be the hottest daddy in the school. Especially on career day.”

  With that, Henry abruptly stopped the glider, lurching them both forward and grabbed Quinn by the hand, pulling him toward their bedroom.

  The doorbell ringing at 6:15 P.M. could only mean one thing. Quinn was keyless. So what else is new? thought Henry, as he saved the work on his laptop to go answer the door.

  “What’s this?” Henry laughed at the sight of Quinn standing in the doorway with a big box that said Oregon Scientific.

  Leaning in for a kiss, Quinn smiled his white-toothed beautiful smile and with shining eyes announced, “This is going to educate us on where we’re going to travel.”

  Putting the box down on the kitchen table, he grabbed two beers from the refrigerator and a knife to start cutting away the packing tape on the box.

  “Oh yeah? What’s in there?” Henry was curious.

  “Ah, you shall see.” Quinn was enjoying the suspense. Finally, he had the tape removed from the top of the brown box, and opened it. Reaching in, he pulled out a second, slightly smaller box with a picture of a globe and bold letters stating this was the Oregon Scientific Smart Globe.